Forum home Babies Baby

baby won't sleep except on me

I feel like a rubbish mum, I just cannot get my DD to sleep in her moses basket, or cot.
She has had awful colic and so we've had to nurse her a LOT these past few weeks, but now even as the colic is easing a little she still refuses point blank to sleep anywhere except on me.

She will only ever fall asleep on me when I am walking or moving, and when we put her down she wakes and screams the place down. I certainly cannot get her to settle in her cot if she is still awake, as all the books say to do.

I am at a loss and feel I am a bit rubbish at this, any ideas gratefully received

Thank you

Replies

  • Awww Cat you are NOT rubbish. You're a fab mummy, you're just having a rough initiation to motherhood, that's all, and I promise it will all get easier very soon as her colic eases.

    Have you tried swaddling her in a thin sheet or special swaddle wrap? It recreates the feeling of being held, it was our godsend in the first few weeks as young Monsieur Mouse was just the same and swaddling taught him to sleep on his own.

    It also doesn't matter what the books say, she'll learn to self settle to sleep when she's ready, now isn't the time and it's more important that she DOES sleep and that you do too, than how she acheives this magical golden state. Sod the books, Etienne hasn't read them.
  • I agree with Mrs Setters swaddling can be a god send! My daughter had severe colic and silent reflux and swaddling gave her the comfort she needed xx
  • Thank you to you both.

    I've just fed her again and put her in a swaddle blanket in her moses basket.

    For the first time ever she is not screaming in objection, she is not asleep but is content and calm. That in itself is a huge improvement!

    Mrs Setters I just wrote " sod the books Etienne hasn't read them" on a post it and stuck it on the fridge door ! Thank you.

    xx
  • Glad the swaddling seems to help.

    Just wanted to say, if you are going to read the books, take what suits you and lo from them. I doubted myself, until I realised that.

    Colic is hard, you will come through the other side. xx
  • How old is your lo now?

    Lyvi suffered from silent reflux and colic/wind pain a lot in the early months and for the first 10 weeks she didn't sleep anywhere except on either me or hubby! It meant sleeping in shifts so someone was awake to hold her all night. But then suddenly at 10 weeks she decided that she felt ready to sleep in her crib at night, but still wouldn't nap in her moses basket in the day time. Around this time we also bought a wedge and sleep positioner for her and these really helped too. Then at 12 weeks she just suddenly decided she felt ready to nap in her moses basket. We didn't do anything differently, just kept trying her each day but not pushing her when she wasn't ready. I believe that they just need to be ready in themselves to do it. Some babies need a bit more comforting in those early months.

    Love NN and Olyvia xxx
  • Emilia was exactly the same until about 6 weeks (she also had colic) and then one day off she went happy as larry into her cot. Swaddling helped us as well, Great for giving them a bit of security. We didnt have to use it forever, just for a month of two.

    You are not rubbish, Babies are funny little things. I wish they were like the maxicosi car seats. Open their bottoms and out pops the manual!

    Joanna x x

    P.S Love your post it!!
  • Sounds like swaddling has done the trick but just wanted to reassure you that bubs won't want to sleep on you forever.

    My DD would not sleep in her crib or anywhere else for that matter for the first few weeks of her life. Her favourite place in the world was mine of hubby's chest. I was completely distraught at this as I thought she'd be relying on me to cuddle her to sleep for the next god knows how many years.

    However as she got bigger we managed to encourage her every now and again to sleep in her crib and now at nearly 16 weeks she will only sleep in her cot or pram as she likes to stretch out and just can't do it if she's being held or cuddled.

    She will grow out of it hun, just hang on in there

    xxx

  • we had this until we bought a wedge for the basket, it was a clevermamma one and worked wonders x
Sign In or Register to comment.

Featured Discussions